The Good News: All eyes on farm states

The Wind Coalition says Kansas’s wind power is booming: right now 35 wind farms are operating and 5 are under construction in Kansas. Wind farms produced 36% of the state’s energy last year, and the number is expected to go up. 12,000 direct and indirect jobs have been brought to Kansas from wind farm development.

To learn more about the movement in the Midwest to create people-powered clean energy and green jobs, check out Detroit’s Soulardarity.

Boise, Idaho has already committed to using 100% clean energy to power city buildings by 2030, but the city might not stop there. Boise’s Public Works Department is considering a plan, tentatively called Boise’s Energy Future, that would set a goal of having the entire city powered by renewable energy by 2040.

16.5% of people in Idaho live in poverty. To support investment in social and climate justice for people in low-income communities, check out Neighborhood Funders Group.

While mammoth companies like Google make headlines for buying massive amounts of clean energy, mid-size companies are also making big moves. The dairy cooperative Organic Valley, through a unique community solar partnership, will soon build the largest solar array in Wisconsin. Plus, protein snack company Clif Bar recently broke ground on what will be the largest onsite solar photovoltaic system in Idaho.

As big companies get behind solar energy, help ensure new US solar projects support the communities they’re built in. Visit Solar United Neighbors to learn more.